


Worlds Collide

by EndOfStoryGoodbyeTheEnd



Series: 10 Detentions Dished Out to Troublemakers [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 19:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15780444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EndOfStoryGoodbyeTheEnd/pseuds/EndOfStoryGoodbyeTheEnd
Summary: “'Them?' she repeated, her voice rising. She spun on Andromeda. In her shock, her hand had dropped from Andromeda’s arm. The pain in her arm lessened, but she almost missed it when she saw the terrible rage in her sister's eyes."Andromeda never really believed she was invincible.





	Worlds Collide

Andromeda's feet were killing her. The ridiculous shoes her younger sister had given her for her birthday were so small, and not even that nice looking. But, Cissy would throw a fit if Andromeda didn’t ‘appreciate her gift,’ so she wore them anyway. 

She was cursing her own kindness as she hurried along the hall. Late, she thought desperately. Late. Late for her first detention ever. What would the punishment for that be? Would she get another detention for being late to detention? She didn’t know! She’d never been in detention before anyway! 

But, there she was, late to her first detention ever. She could still hear McGonagall’s outraged voice as she had reprimanded them all.

Andromeda felt the same feelings she had felt at the moment creeping back in. Fear, gut-wrenching sadness, anger, and a very strong urge to curl up in a ball and cry. The pit in her stomach had never felt emptier. 

It had been like two different worlds colliding. Andromeda had felt like a rag doll being tugged in two different directions. 

It had started out like a normal Halloween feast. She had finished eating with her only Slytherin friend, Philippa Archibald. She and Pippa were leaving the Great Hall, both completely stuffed and chatting normally when it started. 

“I was thinking about just going to bed early, you know? Everyone else is going to be completely hungover tomorrow, so the library will be nice and quiet for studying,” Pippa said, her voice soft and shy as usual. 

“Do you know how utterly boring that sounds?” Andromeda asked playfully, nudging the shorter girl. 

Pippa smiled shyly, tilting her head down so her sheet of black hair slid forward to cover her face. 

Andromeda filled the silence by laughing at her own joke. Pippa laughed quietly with her. As sweet as Pippa was, Andromeda knew she would never survive with Ted and his friends. The poor girl would die of either fear or thinly veiled horror. 

Part of her wished she could introduce Pippa to her friends. They might do worlds of good for Pippa’s confidence. They could help her like they had helped Andromeda. 

At the same time, Andromeda was strangely possessive of them. They were the most incredible thing that had ever happened to her. She didn’t want to share them with anyone.

Andromeda had three friends, other than Pippa. For most people this seemed like a very small amount, but to Andromeda, it was more than she’d ever imagined. Four real friends. It was incredible. 

First was Rhea. The name was so short, and so utterly simple, it had felt incredibly informal to Andromeda the first few times she had spoken to the girl. Rhea herself was as short as her name, with curly chestnut hair and fiery blue eyes. Rhea was a Gryffindor, and really embodied every stereotype imaginable from the house. She was incredibly extroverted, with a very charismatic and self righteous attitude. But she was also boneheaded, gullible, and downright naive. 

Next was Toby. Another name so stupidly simple Andromeda had taken to calling him Tobias simply for the pleasure of extending it a syllable. Toby was a very cliche Ravenclaw, so obsessed with school work and grades that sometimes Andromeda wanted to slap him and yell that in ten years, one tiny essay on jinx’s verses curses wouldn’t matter. He was bespectacled, black haired, and much too skinny for his clothes. 

Then there was Ted. Ted, the boy who had fought his way into her mind and her world until he had somehow managed to become its center. Ted was all that mattered. Ted was the sweetest person she had ever met. He was a Quidditch beater, a pushover (at least when it came to her), and had a very welcoming, Hufflepuff-y attitude. He was unlike anyone she knew, and he had changed her life. 

She was making a mental pros and cons list about introducing Pippa to the group while they walked down the hall in comfortable silence. That was the good thing about Pippa. She never tried to force conversa-

“ANDROMEDA.”

The voice that interrupted Andromeda’s thoughts was most certainly not Pippa’s soft, sweet one. Or Rhea’s loud one. Or Toby’s pompous one. Or even Ted’s warm one. This voice was cold, and exceedingly unsettling. It belonged to Andromeda’s sister, Bellatrix. 

She turned with a sigh. Pippa stopped too, but not without a gulp of air. She was terrified of Bellatrix, who was rather hateful towards the quiet girl. 

“What do you want, Bella?” she asked her older sister, crossing her arms. She spotted Toby ducking down a hall to her left, and was glad he wasn’t going to be in the way. 

Bellatrix was standing, her posture almost identical to Andromeda’s. Her arms were crossed, her hip cocked, and her eyes, so dark brown they appeared black, were steely with contempt. 

“Narcissa told me she saw you leave your dorm late last night. After hours,” she spat the words out like it was a terrible crime. 

Andromeda blinked in surprise. Bellatrix snuck out all the time. “So what?” she asked.

“She followed you,” Bellatrix sneered. 

Andromeda’s blood ran cold. “Bella-”

Bellatrix took two strides forward until her nose was almost touching Andromeda’s. “She saw you go to the Hufflepuff dorm. Luckily, she was too disgusted to follow you in and taint herself as well.” 

Andromeda bristled. Bellatrix had no way of knowing if she had met with anyone who wasn’t pureblood. Sure, her mother (and Bella, by default) harbored a great disdain for wizards and witches not in the Slytherin house. Ravenclaw was probably most accepted after Slytherin. Gryffindor was full of cocky, brainless, self obsessed morons. Hufflepuff wasn’t even worth being called such names. 

“Oh come on, I had to ask a question-” Andromeda started, hoping academics was an acceptable excuse. No such luck.

“You could have asked anyone else. Isn’t she in all of your classes?” Bellatrix pointed harshly at Pippa, who flinched. She was indeed in all of Andromeda’s classes. 

“She didn’t know the answer either,” Andromeda told her. Now the lie was spiralling out of control. 

“And why would you go after hours?” Bellatrix was on a roll. “And why would it be so important that you would risk your purity? Those people are swine, the dirt we walk over,” she spat, invading, if possible, even more of Andromeda’s space. Her eyes were wild and frantic. There was a glint in them that made Andromeda’s heart race uncomfortably. Bella would never hurt her…

“I simply went to ask a question,” Andromeda said calmly. “I felt my education was, at the present, most important-” she started to take a step back, to retreat while she still had her dignity. 

Bellatrix grabbed her arm. Her hand was cold, tight enough that Andromeda was sure her skin turned white. Pippa’s breathing was shallow with shock and fear.

“HEY!” 

This time, the voice that stopped Andromeda in her tracks was a friendly one. But it sure didn’t sound friendly. Over Bellatrix’s shoulder, Andromeda could see who had shouted. Ted was running over, trailed by Rhea and Toby. Andromeda’s heart started beating ever faster. 

Go away, she tried to mouth desperately as Bella spun to face the oncoming threat. Go away, please-

It was too late. They skidded to a stop in front of Bellatrix, whose grip was still too tight on Andromeda’s arm. 

“Leave her alone,” Ted said sternly, and Andromeda was shocked. He looked terrifying, angrier than she had ever seen. He had grown over the summer, and lost a lot of pudge. He was burlier. The Quidditch practices had finally started to show in his arms and chest. He was not the adorable little ball of a boy she had first met. He actually looked like a admirable threat. 

Rhea had her arms crossed next to him. Her russet hair was tangly and curly, almost as if she hasn’t had time to tame it yet. Her robes looked rather haphazardly thrown on. Her blue eyes were cold with hatred, but they also looked kind of tired.

However, Toby looked fully awake. His usually perfectly parted hair flopped into his eyes. Skyscraper tall and thin as a rail, he never fell a pace behind the stockier Ted and short Rhea. But now he was lagging, breathing heavily, his cheeks pink from exertion. 

It hit Andromeda. Toby. Cold, analytical, and practical Toby, had run all the way from the Great Hall to get Ted and Rhea before running back. She almost smiled, but the nails biting into her arm stopped her. 

Bellatrix looked murderous. “What’s it to you?”

“You bullying-” Rhea interjected, and Toby put a hand on her shoulder. She quieted, but her expression stayed the same.

“Let her go. Who she sees is none of your business,” Ted said. Andromeda resisted the urge to scream. He clearly thought Bellatrix had discovered their friendship. He was going to unknowingly out her. 

No, please. She mouthed at Ted again, as one last desperate plea. 

Toby noticed. His eyes widened as he understood. He opened his mouth, presumably to distract Ted, but Ted and Rhea missed the whole exchange as Bellatrix spoke first. A terrible laugh escaped her lips.

“Who she sees? Why would you care who she-” 

The vile amusement on her face died. The cruel smile melted off as the thought hit her. Andromeda could practically see the realization dawning on her. No, no, no, no-

“Them?” 

Bellatrix's voice was utterly incredulous. Her eyes were steely chips of obsidian. 

“Them?” she repeated, her voice rising. She spun on Andromeda. In her shock, her hand had dropped from Andromeda’s arm. The pain in her arm lessened, but she almost missed it when she saw the terrible rage in her sister's eyes. 

“Bella-” she started, but Bellatrix was having none of it.

“THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE YOU BRAVE THAT SLIME PIT FOR? THE TALL ONE IS A RAVENCLAW, YOU COULD AT LEAST GO THERE,” Bellatrix shrieked, her voice loud enough that everyone in the vicinity glanced over.

“Oh, calm down, Bella!” Andromeda hissed. “You can’t possibly expect me not to speak with people in other houses-”

Her reasoning fell on deaf ears.

“Please tell me they are very unfortunate purebloods, and not mudbloods or blood traitors and scum-” 

“They-” Andromeda tried, but Bellatrix still wasn’t listening.

She whirled to face Ted, Rhea, and Toby again. “Last names,” she demanded forcefully, her face full of disdain.

“Toby DeLaney,” Toby said cooly. 

“What’s it to you?” Rhea said stonily. 

“Tonks,” Ted said, his face careful. He and Rhea hadn’t pieced together what was happening yet. But Toby was looking at Andromeda pityingly, clearly very sorry for what he had inadvertently done. 

“Bella, come on, this is ridiculous!” Andromeda said nervously. Toby was pureblood. She was safe there, but Rhea was a member of a very vocal blood traitor family, and Ted was a… muggleborn. Andromeda surprised herself by not being able to even think the derogatory alternative. 

“Tonks? I’ve never heard of a Tonks. If I’ve never heard of them,” Bella snarled, spinning back on Andromeda. “That usually means they aren’t worth knowing.”

Andromeda opened her mouth to tell Bellatrix that Ted was a halfblood, tell her a last name that wasn’t Rhea’s, so Bella wouldn’t think she was getting in with the wrong crowd. Ted and Rhea would play along. Bella would never have to know. She could go back to defying her belief system silently, and living her double life. 

But eventually, Bellatrix would find out. People knew Ted was a muggle-born, and anyone who knew Rhea even remotely knew exactly how she felt about blood prejudice. Andromeda knew Bellatrix wouldn’t like it. 

“That’s because he’s a muggle-born,” Andromeda told her sister. 

Bellatrix’s eyes popped, and a surprised look eclipsed over the snarl. She clearly hadn’t expected Andromeda to admit her betrayal so candidly. Maybe she even expected Andromeda to have a legitimate reason or excuse. 

“What did you say?” her sister hissed, leaning close enough to Andromeda that they were sharing the same air. 

“That’s because he’s a muggle-born,” Andromeda repeated, hating herself as she leaned away from her sister. If she was going to defile her entire family name, she guessed she could at least stand up straight while doing it. “He’s a muggle-born,” she said it a third time, and found, in a beautifully freeing way, the two words didn’t mean anything to her anymore. They were simply words. She felt like she was floating. A great weight had been lifted. No more lying, no more sneaking around-

She felt like she was sinking. The weight was back. Bellatrix had drawn her wand almost too fast for Andromeda to see, let alone react to. It wasn’t too fast for Pippa, however. The weight of five foot two Pippa was just enough to knock Andromeda to the ground and out of harm's way. The only thing that stopped her head from smacking the stone was Pippa’s hands, looping around to pull the two so they landed on their sides. Pippa saved her from the probably wretched curse her sister meant for her. 

Andromeda barely had time to remember how to breathe when she heard a scream of rage from her sister. She tossed her waves of dark hair out of her eyes, and the sight that met her dispelled her newly reclaimed air.

Bellatrix, her hair tangled and framing her face, was facing Rhea and Ted, who were standing, imposing, in front of Pippa and Andromeda. Rhea’s wand was out, her face stony, and Ted was a solid object, almost daring Bellatrix to try and move him. Andromeda couldn’t see Toby through the ring of people gathering to watch. 

“Get out of my way!” Bellatrix shrieked, and Andromeda could feel the power radiating from her. Trying to block her was a very bad idea. She was furious, and fury was Bellatrix’s strongest motivator. But to Andromeda’s shock, neither Rhea nor Ted even blinked. They actually looked quite immovable themselves. 

“No,” Rhea told Bellatrix, stubborn as ever. 

This was a mistake, and Andromeda wanted to scream at Rhea and Ted to just move. She couldn’t actually use her voice at the moment, and she hated herself for the paralyzing fear that kept her in place as Bellatrix screamed in rage and lunged forward, her wand slicing through the air. 

Pippa pulled on her arm. “Andromeda, please, let’s go.” 

“No,” Andromeda managed to breathe out the word. “I can’t leave them.” 

Pippa scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide with fear and surprise, and her movement jarred Andromeda out of her state of shock. She pushed herself up quickly, grabbing Pippa’s arm to steady herself. Even while fear for her friends consumed her, she surprised herself by using Pippa for support. Pippa was usually the one who needed a steading hand. As grateful as she was for her friends new found strength, she could tell that Pippa’s bravery was hanging by a thread; Andromeda pushed the smaller girl behind her, and Pippa was glad to go. 

Pippa behind her, she felt steadier and stronger. She took in the sight before her. Spells were flying back and forth, and Pippa lurched to bump against Andromeda’s back to avoid being hit. Andromeda glanced back. Her friend’s mouth was open in silent terror.

Andromeda knew how she felt. Andromeda’s carefully separated worlds were clashing together in flashes of light and magic. Ted was an average duler. Rhea was excellent. Bellatrix was viciously incredible. 

It was a toss up of who was better when Ted and Rhea were working together. 

The uncertainty was terrifying. Andromeda pulled out her wand and started forward. None of the three noticed her. Ted and Rhea had their backs to her, and Bellatrix was busy simultaneously blocking the stinging hex from Rhea and putting out the fire licking at the hem of her robes courtesy of Ted. She delivered her own spell back, a wicked looking purple one that forced Rhea to physically jump aside to avoid it. Andromeda felt its heat when it brushed past her. 

She took a deep breath and shoved herself in the new gap now formed between Ted and Rhea. Spells stopped flying out of shock, giving her just enough time to plant herself in the middle of the dueling trio. 

“Andromeda, move,” Rhea’s words were ice, her breathing slightly heavier from exertion. Ted remained silent. 

Bellatrix lunged forward, reaching for Andromeda’s wrist again, but a flash of light from Ted’s wand stopped her from getting any further. She snarled. “Leave us,” she demanded, “This is a conversation between sisters.”

“Go on,” Andromeda said placatingly, her heart thudding painfully hard in her chest. “I can handle this.” 

Rhea practically laughed. “We aren’t-”

“Leave,” a new voice joined in, and Andromeda glanced in its direction to see a small head of white blonde hair stopping at her side. “Or better yet, let us go,” Narcissa was looking up at Bellatrix with an almost stern look in her eyes. “Bella, calm down, please.” 

Andromeda was shocked. Narcissa was never the calm or collected one. She was always the shy one, caught between her sisters fighting. Now here she was, steady in the same situation she had cowered in for years.

“Cissy-” Bellatrix started to force out, but Andromeda would never figure out what she was going to say. 

“Duelling in the hallway! You are all lucky none of you have to be sent to the hospital wing!”  
Professor McGonagall bustled down the hallway, her eyes blazing. Toby trailed behind, looking utterly dejected. 

I’m sorry, he mouthed apologetically.

Thank you, she responded. Toby had prevented anyone from getting hurt.

“Miss Barnes, Mr. Tonks, Miss Black, you know the drill. Detention for the next month every Saturday night, Mr. Filch will be seeing you in the Trophy Room,” Professor McGonagall glared, daring the three detention-savvy students to protest. 

None of them did. Bellatrix’s eyes did narrow dangerously when Professor McGonagall said Rhea’s last name. 

“You three ladies can join me,” Professor McGonagall told Narcissa, Andromeda and Pippa. “All of you are proficient in my class. You can help me rectify the mistakes your fellow students have made. If you’re lucky, you might just learn something.” 

Andromeda didn’t care if she had to fix the botched transfiguration of a thousand students, she was so relieved she was struggling not to cry. The confrontation could have gone so much worse. She felt a soft touch on her arm and glanced sideways. Pippa’s slim fingers were tracing the red, finger shaped marks on Andromeda’s wrist. She lifted her arm. Andromeda’s breath caught in her throat as the marks were exposed to better lighting, looking even worse. 

“Do you need the hospital wing, Miss Black?” 

Andromeda glanced up at Professor McGonagall, pulling the previously rolled up sleeves of her shirt down over the marks. “No, they’re just bruises,” she promised the teacher, looking at Bellatrix. Her sister's face was smooth and indifferent. Andromeda’s body went cold as she met her sister's eyes. Though Bellatrix’s face was calm, her eyes smoldered with hatred. She had made the connection to Rhea’s last name.

Andromeda took a shaky breath, facing her teacher. “Professor-”

“That will be all, Miss Black. You, Mr. Delaney, and Miss Archibald can go. You as well, Miss Black,” Professor McGonagall directed her last words at Narcissa, who nodded stiffly and swept away. “You three, with me,” McGonagall gestured at Rhea, Ted, and Bellatrix.

Andromeda put a hand on Pippa’s arm, and the smaller girl surprised her by linking their arms. It was like a symbolic show of support for Andromeda and of Pippa’s acceptance of her choices. She was insurmountably touched. They went together to Toby, who was wringing his hands anxiously. When they reached him, his worry boiled over.

“Oh my, Andromeda, I’m so sorry, I had no idea she didn’t know! I thought-”

“Toby!” she cut him off. “You did all the right things. Thank you for listening and doing what was best, even if Rhea and Ted get mad,” Andromeda said, smiling up at the boy. 

Toby sighed. “At least no one got hurt,” he stressed, and Andromeda’s stomach dropped uncomfortably at the thought. 

“Oh, Toby, this is Pippa,” she introduced, feeling her friend's fingers rubbing compulsively against her now rolled down sleeve. 

Pippa glanced up, craning her neck to see Toby. The tall boy looked down at her. He suddenly flushed, smiling awkwardly at her. “Uh, hi. I’m Toby.”

Pippa smiled shyly and ducked down so her hair fell over her face. “Hi,” she whispered quietly. 

Both shuffled awkawrdly, faces red. Andromeda grinned, wondering how far down Toby would have to bend to kiss Pippa, and how high up on her tiptoes Pippa would have to reach to kiss Toby.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for being so late, my lovely editor's computer broke so she took a bit longer to check this one out for me. :) It's one of my favorites.


End file.
